Fujifilm is one of the producers at the cradle of the xD Picture Card and therefore it is only logical for the Fujifilm FinePix S9600 to use this card as storage medium. But the Fujifilm S9600 also offers space for a CompactFlash flash memory card. For the users of, for instance, the Fujifilm S3 Pro or another CF based camera; this can be an advantage. They can bring the Fujifilm FinePix S9600 along as second camera without having to work with two cards. Fujifilm also holds on to the AA batteries, so you don't have to buy an expensive brand-tied battery pack. There's something to be said about that.

Fujifilm xD Picture card - Type H
Fujifilm also provided the new xD Picture type H card with the test sample, a faster variant of the memory card. Indeed the files are being processed to the card faster. The files are pretty large, especially if photographing in RAW and you will notice this when processing. After taking a RAW picture, you will have to wait a few counts before taking the next photo. In real life, this actually does not work pleasantly. In JPEG you won't have any problems with this, except when making a series of recordings. The buffer is filled up quickly and you will have to wait a while. The fact that you cannot make continued recordings with RAW also shows that the Fujifilm S9600 is not a speed freak. The speed is a serious restriction in the possibilities you could have with this camera. With a 9 Megapixels resolution you will quickly need a large memory card. And a fast card wherever possible. When photographing only in JPEG, you will just need a 512MB memory card. If you rather work in RAW, you will have to think of a 1GB or even more. In the table below you can see how many recordings fit on a 512MB card.

Fujifilm Finepix S9600 - USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface
The pictures can be transferred straight from the camera to a PC or notebook through the quick USB 2.0 Hi-Speed interface. In combination with this fast connection and a fast memory card like the Fujifilm xD Picture Card type H, delays will not hinder the work environment quickly. Those who rather don't want to use the camera for the transfer can choose for the so-called card reader. Such a device is actually indispensable in the digital work environment and adds much comfort to the transfer of data.

Fujifilm S9600 - AA format batteries
In the grip of the Fujifilm FinePix S9600 fit 4 AA format batteries. The big advantage is that they can be bought everywhere. It is preferred to use NiMH batteries of about 2000mAh or higher. Not only do they last longer, they are also friendlier for the environment. Moreover, Fujifilm provides four alkaline batteries with the camera. They do not last very long however. It would not be bad for Fujifilm if they would standard provide a set of NiMH batteries together with a quick charger. With a completely full set of 2300mAh batteries it is well possible to take about 250- 280 pictures.